African-American Communities

When
many people think of the word "community," they often think of a
city or town. But a community can be more than a physical place with boundaries.
It can be a group of people who share something in common— a neighborhood,
a church or a love of art. A community can be as small as just a few people,
or as large as the entire United States population.

For many African-Americans the
strength to overcome prejudice and discrimination was often found in their
communities.

Cities and Neighborhoods

In many of Iowa's larger cities,
African-American communities existed as neighborhoods, where African-American
Iowans lived, worked and played together.

Sometimes these African-American
neighborhoods developed because of segregation. In Waterloo in 1915 European-American
real estate agents forced African-American homeowners into specific neighborhoods,
separating the city's populations. These neighborhoods were in the city's
poorer areas.

Segregation occurred in many of
Iowa's cities and towns. African-Americans strengthened their segregated communities
by creating their own businesses, churches, and social and professional clubs.

Des Moines' African-American population
grew when Fort Des Moines became the site of the Colored Officers Training
Camp in 1917, and African-American families chose to stay in Des Moines after
World War I ended in 1918. This was the beginning of a community that became
home to many African-American leaders.

The coal mining town of Buxton is
a community that stands out in Iowa history. Of the 5,000 people living in
Buxton in 1905, more than half were African-American. Buxton was described
as a utopia where African-Americans and European-Americans lived together
without the racial tension that was common everywhere else at the time. People
from many countries such as Belgium, Bohemia, France, Germany, Norway and
Russia also lived and worked in Buxton. Despite the mix of races and ethnic
groups, there was little racial or ethnic
discrimination in Buxton— everyone was treated equally.

When the coal mines near Buxton
closed, African-American residents moved to bigger cities like Waterloo and
Des Moines. Outside the Buxton community, they once again faced discrimination
and prejudice.

Religious Communities

When southern African-Americans
first came to Iowa, they counted on the traditions of the church to help them
adjust to life here. The church was a place to find spiritual guidance, friends
and emotional support.

By 1906 more than 70 African-American
churches existed in Iowa, most of them either Baptist or African Methodist
Episcopal. These churches also helped improve race relations in Iowa's cities.
In Waterloo in the early 1900s Reverend I.W. Bess of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church worked hard to end the conflicts between the city's different
ethnic groups and restore pride in African-American communities. Many protests
and demonstrations during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s
were organized in churches in Iowa and throughout the country.

As within any community, the people
in African-American communities in Iowa shared many ideas, beliefs and experiences.
But the individuals that make up the communities contribute a variety of ideas
and beliefs that make the community interesting.